Graphic novels are "hot." They show up everywhere from book stores to TV shows. Educators, too, are discovering the possibilities for graphic novels across the curriculum. Among the possibilities, educators can explore the graphic novel as a bildungsroman, a coming of age story--an old genre in the literary canon appearing in a new medium. The graphic novel as bildungsroman can be used to teach media literacy/multiple literacies, while examining issues that can aid adolescent development and engage students with diversity. This article provides a brief history of the bildungsroman and the graphic novel as a bildungsroman. It also examines the potential for this medium and genre in media literacy education.